Domestic traders body CAIT on Thursday claimed that e-commerce major Amazon's plan to acquire Prione Business Services - its joint venture firm with Catamaran - will be a violation of foreign direct investment policy.
Amazon has said it will acquire Prione Business Services, subject to requisite regulatory approvals.
In August, Amazon and NR Narayana Murthy's Catamaran had announced that they will not continue their joint venture Prione Business Services beyond May 2022.
Amazon has applied to the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for approval to buy Catamaran Ventures' 100 per cent stake in Prione Business Services Pvt Ltd, and if the approval from CCI is given to Amazon, "it will be a gross violation of the FDI policy", Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has said in a statement.
It would be a violation because Amazon will have complete control over a seller on its marketplace platform and this will convert the online company from being a marketplace platform to an inventory based platform, which is strictly prohibited under the FDI policy, it added.
Despite facing multiple investigations by various Indian agencies like the Enforcement Directorate and Competition Commission of India, Amazon has been "relentlessly" adopting various means to "circumvent" India's sovereign laws, it noted.
Photograph: Abhishek N Chinnappa/Reuters